UNITED STATES PUBLIC LAW 103-150

103d Congress Joint Resolution 19

Nov. 23, 1993

To acknowledge the 100th anniversary of the January 17, 1893 overthrow of
the Kingdom of Hawaii, and to offer an apology to Native Hawaiians on behalf of
the United States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Whereas, prior to the arrival of the first Europeans in 1778, the Native
Hawaiian people lived in a highly organized, self-sufficient, subsistent social
system based on communal land tenure with a sophisticated language, culture,
and religion;

Whereas, a unified monarchical government of the Hawaiian Islands was
established in 1810 under Kamehameha I, the first King of Hawaii;

Whereas, from 1826 until 1893, the United States recognized the independence
of the Kingdom of Hawaii, extended full and complete diplomatic recognition to
the Hawaiian Government, and entered into treaties and conventions with the
Hawaiian monarchs to govern commerce and navigation in 1826, 1842, 1849, 1875,
and 1887;

Whereas, the Congregational Church (now known as the United Church of
Christ), through its American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions,
sponsored and sent more than 100 missionaries to the Kingdom of Hawaii between
1820 and 1850;

Whereas, on January 14, 1893, John L. Stevens (hereafter referred to in this
Resolution as the "United States Minister"), the United States Minister
assigned to the sovereign and independent Kingdom of Hawaii conspired with a
small group of non-Hawaiian residents of the Kingdom of Hawaii, including
citizens of the United States, to overthrow the indigenous and lawful
Government of Hawaii;

Whereas, in pursuance of the conspiracy to overthrow the Government of
Hawaii, the United States Minister and the naval representatives of the United
States caused armed naval forces of the United States to invade the sovereign
Hawaiian nation on January 16, 1893, and to position themselves near the
Hawaiian Government buildings and the Iolani Palace to intimidate Queen Liliuokalani and her Government;

Whereas, on the afternoon of January 17,1893, a Committee of Safety that
represented the American and European sugar planters, descendants of
missionaries, and financiers deposed the Hawaiian monarchy and proclaimed the
establishment of a Provisional Government;

Whereas, the United States Minister thereupon extended diplomatic recognition
to the Provisional Government that was formed by the conspirators without the
consent of the Native Hawaiian people or the lawful Government of Hawaii and in
violation of treaties between the two nations and of international law;

Whereas, soon thereafter, when informed of the risk of bloodshed with
resistance, Queen Liliuokalani issued the following statement yielding her
authority to the United States Government rather than to the Provisional
Government:

"I Liliuokalani, by the Grace of God and under the
Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, Queen, do hereby
solemnly protest against any and all acts done against
myself and the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian
Kingdom by certain persons claiming to have established a
Provisional Government of and for this Kingdom.

"That I yield to the superior force of the United States of
America whose Minister Plenipotentiary, His Excellency
John L. Stevens, has caused United States troops to be landed
a Honolulu and declared that he would support the Provisional
Government.

"Now to avoid any collision of armed forces, and perhaps the
loss of life, I do this under protest and impelled by said
force yield my authority until such time as the Government
of the United States shall, upon facts being presented to
it, undo the action of its representatives and reinstate me
in the authority which I claim as the Constitutional
Sovereign of the Hawaiian Islands.".

Done at Honolulu this 17th day of January, A.D. 1893.;

Whereas, without the active support and intervention by the United States
diplomatic and military representatives, the insurrection against the
Government of Queen Liliuokalani would have failed for lack of popular support
and insufficient arms;

Whereas, on February 1, 1893, the United States Minister raised the American
flag and proclaimed Hawaii to be a protectorate of the United States;

Whereas, the report of a Presidentially established investigation conducted
by former Congressman James Blount into the events surrounding the insurrection
and overthrow of January 17, 1893, concluded that the United States diplomatic
and military representatives had abused their authority and were responsible
for the change in government;

Whereas, as a result of this investigation, the United States Minister to
Hawaii was recalled from his diplomatic post and the military commander of the
United States armed forces stationed in Hawaii was disciplined and forced to
resign his commission;

Whereas, in a message to Congress on December 18, 1893, President Grover Cleveland reported fully and accurately on the illegal acts of the
conspirators, described such acts as an "act of war, committed with the
participation of a diplomatic representative of the United States and without
authority of Congress", and acknowledged that by such acts the government of a
peaceful and friendly people was overthrown;

Whereas, President Cleveland further concluded that a "substantial wrong has
thus been done which a due regard for our national character as well as the
rights of the injured people requires we should endeavor to repair" and called
for the restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy;

Whereas, the Provisional Government protested President Cleveland's call for
the restoration of the monarchy and continued to hold state power and pursue
annexation to the United States;

Whereas, the Provisional Government successfully lobbied the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate (hereafter referred to in this Resolution as
the "Committee") to conduct a new investigation into the events surrounding the
overthrow of the monarchy;

Whereas, the Committee and its chairman, Senator John Morgan, conducted
hearings in Washington, D.C., from December 27,1893, through February 26, 1894,
in which members of the Provisional Government justified and condoned the
actions of the United States Minister and recommended annexation of Hawaii;

Whereas, although the Provisional Government was able to obscure the role of
the United States in the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, it was
unable to rally the support from two-thirds of the Senate needed to ratify a
treaty of annexation;

Whereas, on July 4, 1894, the Provisional Government declared itself to be
the Republic of Hawaii;

Whereas, on January 24, 1895, while imprisoned in Iolani Palace, Queen
Liliuokalani was forced by representatives of the Republic of Hawaii to
officially abdicate her throne;

Whereas, in the 1896 United States Presidential election, William McKinley
replaced Grover Cleveland;

Whereas, on July 7, 1898, as a consequence of the Spanish-American War,
President McKinley signed the Newlands Joint Resolution that provided for the
annexation of Hawaii;

Whereas, through the Newlands Resolution, the self-declared Republic of
Hawaii ceded sovereignty over the Hawaiian Islands to the United States;

Whereas, the Republic of Hawaii also ceded 1,800,000 acres of crown,
government and public lands of the Kingdom of Hawaii, without the consent of or
compensation to the Native Hawaiian people of Hawaii or their sovereign
government;

Whereas, the Congress, through the Newlands Resolution, ratified the cession,
annexed Hawaii as part of the United States, and vested title to the lands in
Hawaii in the United States;

Whereas, the Newlands Resolution effected the transaction between the
Republic of Hawaii and the United States Government;

Whereas, the indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their
claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands
to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or
referendum;

Whereas, on April 30, 1900, President McKinley signed the Organic Act that
provided a government for the territory of Hawaii and defined the political
structure and powers of the newly established Territorial Government and its
relationship to the United States;

Whereas, on August 21,1959, Hawaii became the 50th State of the United
States;

Whereas, the health and well-being of the Native Hawaiian people is
intrinsically tied to their deep feelings and attachment to the land;

Whereas, the long-range economic and social changes in Hawaii over the
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have been devastating to the
population and to the health and well-being of the Hawaiian people;

Whereas, the Native Hawaiian people are determined to preserve, develop and
transmit to future generations their ancestral territory, and their cultural
identity in accordance with their own spiritual and traditional beliefs,
customs, practices, language, and social institutions;

Whereas, in order to promote racial harmony and cultural understanding, the
Legislature of the State of Hawaii has determined that the year 1993, should
serve Hawaii as a year of special reflection on the rights and dignities of the
Native Hawaiians in the Hawaiian and the American societies;

Whereas, the Eighteenth General Synod of the United Church of Christ in
recognition of the denomination's historical complicity in the illegal
overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1893 directed the Office of the President
of the United Church of Christ to offer a public apology to the Native Hawaiian
people and to initiate the process of reconciliation between the United Church
of Christ and the Native Hawaiians; and

Whereas, it is proper and timely for the Congress on the occasion of the
impending one hundredth anniversary of the event, to acknowledge the historic
significance of the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, to express its
deep regret to the Native Hawaiian people, and to support the reconciliation
efforts of the State of Hawaii and the United Church of Christ with Native
Hawaiians;

Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND APOLOGY.

The Congress -

(1) on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the illegal overthrow of the
Kingdom of Hawaii on January 17, 1893, acknowledges the historical significance
of this event which resulted in the suppression of the inherent sovereignty of
the Native Hawaiian people;

(2) recognizes and commends efforts of reconciliation initiated by the State
of Hawaii and the United Church of Christ with Native Hawaiians;

(3) apologizes to Native Hawaiians on behalf of the people of the United
States for the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii on January 17, 1893 with the
participation of agents and citizens of the United States, and the deprivation
of the rights of Native Hawaiians to self-determination;

(4) expresses its commitment to acknowledge the ramifications of the
overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, in order to provide a proper foundation for
reconciliation between the United States and the Native Hawaiian people; and

(5) urges the President of the United States to also acknowledge the
ramifications of the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and to support
reconciliation efforts between the United States and the Native Hawaiian
people.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

As used in this Joint Resolution, the term "Native Hawaiians" means any
individual who is a descendent of the aboriginal people who, prior to 1778,
occupied and exercised sovereignty in the area that now constitutes the State
of Hawaii.

SEC. 3. DISCLAIMER.

Nothing in this Joint Resolution is intended to serve as a settlement of any
claims against the United States.

"...the logical consequences of this resolution would be independence."

- Senator Slade Gorton, US Senate Congressional Record
Wednesday, October 27, 1993, 103rd Cong. 1st Sess.(Note that Sen. Gorton was speaking in opposition to the resolution,
and this statement was part of his reason for opposing it.)